BIZCHINA / Center

NBS: No one-off RMB appreciation
(AFP)
Updated: 2006-07-18 19:53

China will not make another one-off appreciation of its currency, a government spokesman has said, following the release of data showing the strongest economic growth in around a decade.

"As (Premier) Wen Jiabao said, there will not be another surprise one-off appreciation of the renminbi (yuan) through administrative measures," National Bureau of Statistics spokesman Zheng Jingping said Tuesday.


A Chinese customer shows off a handfull of hundred-yuan notes at a local bank in Beijing, May 2006. China will not make another one-off appreciation of its currency, a government spokesman has said following the release of data showing the strongest economic growth in around a decade. [AFP]

"If anyone wants to play games with the renminbi, they won't benefit from that," he added in a warning to speculators banking on further gains in the yuan.

Date released earlier Tuesday showing the economy grew 10.9 percent in the first half compared with the same period a year earlier, driven by a frenetic 11.3 percent in the three months to June -- the fastest pace in more than a decade.

China's trade surplus also hit a record US$61.4 billion in the six months to June while fixed asset investment climbed 29.8 percent, underpinning growth rates which analysts said make further government efforts to slow the economy much more likely if not inevitable.
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